25.11.2010
–
13.02.2011
Twenty-six million minutes latter

Twenty-six million minutes latterNew Tendencies, from the Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art ZagrebUGM l Maribor Art Gallery, Strossmayerjeva 6Opening: Thursday, 25 November 2010 at 19:00In 1961 – when the first Conference of Non-Aligned Heads of State was convened at Belgrade – in Zagreb the event New Tendencies took place, presenting the beginnings of the then Yugoslav territory globalization. Under guidelines of the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Zagreb young European and American artists announced changes in fine arts. They believed in a new and contemporary image of the world, progress, innovation, experiment and activism, but at the same time they criticized society and their leading structures. New Tendencies, primary only a term for non-formal, independent groups and individuals, soon became the sign for organized European movement where visual, kinetic, optical, programmed and gestaltic art as well as neo-constructivism and neo-concretism encountered. The fourth (1968) and fifth (1973) exhibition were among the first exhibitions representing computer arts in general. The Museum of Contemporary Arts in Zagreb houses a major collection of artworks, amongst them works by famous European and other artist, exhibiting at the five “New Tendencies” exhibitions, like Marc Adrien, Vojin Bakić, Vladimir Bonačić, Dieter Hacker, Julio Le Parc, Koloman Novak, John Baldessari, OHO, Victor Vassarely. Slovene artists OHO and Edvard Zajec participated as well, but up till now we didn’t have the opportunity to see this magnificent and important manifestation happening just nearby.

The first Slovene presentation of the New Tendencies movement focuses on the media transfer from picture to object, at first the conversion is static, then motional and in the end digital. As in the art world progress, a transition from object to concept–idea derives deviating from the subject materialism. This concept is closely linked to the evolving computer and conceptual art. Beside the artworks and archive material, housed by the MSU (Museum of Contemporary Art), the UGM exhibition enables the visitor an insight into the social aspect of the events, a glimpse at the past, so significant for the future local as well as European art. UGM and International Festival of Computer Arts are presenting New Tendencies movement to the Slovenian and European area. In cooperation with curators of the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art, Petja Grafenauer will select artworks for the Maribor exhibition.